The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Health Care Policy and Research is developing recommendations that will help institutional review boards, or IRBs, and other similar organizations protect patient-identifying data used in research projects.
IRBs are formed by universities and other research institutions to review research projects and approve, disapprove, suspend or terminate previous approval of research to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects. How IRBs review research projects and protect patients from having their personal health information disclosed, however, may vary.
The AHCPR recommendations will help guide reviewers as they analyze research projects that use identifiable patient information and as they implement the HHS’s privacy regulations mandated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
The recommendations will be based on a study by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences that is expected to be completed this summer.
"Patient information is the foundation of research for improving the quality of health care that Americans receive," said AHCPR Administrator John M. Eisenberg, M.D. "Safeguarding the privacy of this critical resource is paramount."
